The sticker on my door

I have stickers on the doors of my treatment rooms. This initially occurred quite by accident.

I gave one of my favorite patients, a cute 7 year old, a sticker that proudly proclaimed him to be 'built tough.' He ran around with it for a few minutes and then ran back and stuck it on the outside of the room for me to see.

One day, while feeling particularly introspective, I wondered what I got out of being a doctor.

Why do I do what I do?

Money? Well, sure, I guess. Enough to pay the bills and enjoy good food and trips like Costa Rica...but that's not why. I could go back to work at Nationwide for that.

Prestige? Uh--no. Not in this society anyway. I'm mostly labeled as a quack, although that is changing.

Hmm.

I remembered then that the most powerful moment in my career as a doctor occurred while I was taking a patient's pulse. This woman was in her 50s and she had a prickly personality and a tough-looking exterior. I had completed the consultation and was performing the pulse examination. As I opened my heart to really feel what was happening in her pulse I glanced into her eyes and felt...LOVE.

Sheer, overwhelming love for this soul, this being who was here, in front of me, wanting help. I was sitting there, in my little chair, literally feeling her heart beat and perceiving the nuances of each wave; each vibration stroking my fingertips and giving me information that I could use to ease her pain.

That's why.

How could I forget? Easy. Running around, finding charts, paying bills, overseeing staff, making sure we have dinner - did the dog poop? No? Gotta walk him for sure...

I came up with a method to remember with the help of my mentors.

I placed a sticker on my other office door (this one heart shaped proclaiming 'My Doctor Loves Me.')

Now, as I prepare to walk into the treatment room, I stop for a second and glance at my sticker.

Heart opens, love pours out, all day long.

The best therapy in the world. I've never felt happier.

Lucky me, huh?